Metalinguistic image of ser and estar

This paper analyzes the properties of the image as a tool for the description of grammar phenomena and peeks into its pedagogical potential through an application to the controverted dichotomy between ser and estar in Spanish. The use of visual language as a device for the analysis and presentation of grammar has been one of the Cognitive Linguistics’ most characteristic traits. Nevertheless, the application of this powerful tool in the Spanish Language classroom is still scant, despite the description potential that the experts grant to it. This paper shows an analysis of some approaches to ser and estar through Cognitive Grammar and the metalinguistic image, and proposes another possible interpretation based in those principles and aiming to be exportable to the Spanish as a Foreign Language classroom.